The powerful new Volkwagen Golf R takes on the SEAT Leon Cupra 280 on track.<br /><br />Golf R review: http://bit.ly/1gFTsRz<br />Leon Cupra review: http://bit.ly/1klzSsV<br /><br />Subscribe to our YouTube channel http://bit.ly/11Ad1j1<br />Subscribe to the mag http://subscribe.autoexpress.co.uk/yt<br /><br />With snazzy looks, four-wheel drive and just shy of 300bhp, the new Volkswagen Golf R is the pinnacle of the massive Golf range. But is it the best hot hatch in the VW Group stable?<br /><br />To find out, we brought along the new SEAT Leon Cupra 280, which has just taken the fastest ever lap time around the Nurburgring for a front-wheel drive car, for an Auto Express track battle.<br /><br />The most powerful production Golf ever made, the new Golf R costs £31,970 if you choose the DSG gearbox and five-door body. It gets 296bhp and 380Nm of torque from its 2.0-litre turbocharged engine, and has four-wheel drive to put all the power on the road.<br /><br />Lighter and cheaper than the Golf, the SEAT Leon Cupra is only front-wheel drive, but it has similar underpinnings and the same engine. It develops 276bhp and 350Nm of torque. Like the Golf, this car is fitted with the DSG dual-clutch gearbox.<br /><br />Stable and powerful, the Golf R performed well around our circuit, recording a lap time of 1.14.8 seconds. However, the sharper and more agile SEAT recorded a lap time of 1.13.9 seconds. <br /><br />So which car comes out on top in our hot hatch head-to-head? Well, it's a bit expensive, but we really like the Golf R. It's a great road car - it's fast, upmarket and composed. But on the track the SEAT Leon Cupra may only be front-wheel drive, but it has almost as much traction, it's much more agile and it's faster against the stopwatch. <br /><br />Crucially it's nearly £4,000 cheaper, so in this head-to-head track battle it's the SEAT Leon Cupra that takes victory.
